judicial foreclosure

n. a judgment by a court in favor of foreclosure of a mortgage or deed of trust, which orders that the real property which secured the debt be sold under foreclosure proceedings to pay the debt. The party suing probably has chosen to seek a judicial foreclosure rather than use the foreclosure provisions of the mortgage or deed of trust. Usually this move is made to get a "deficiency judgment" for any amount still owed after the foreclosure sale. In many states (such as California) a foreclosure on the deed of trust limits the recovery to the amount of sale proceeds (sales price minus other debts), so a lawsuit for judicial foreclosure may help the party recover the total money owed to him/her if it was secured by the debtor's real property. (See: foreclosure, mortgage, deed of trust)